1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of applying an anti-slip coating to plates and grates and to a portable manufacturing facility.
2. Background Art
SlipNot® Safety Flooring manufactured by the W. S. Molnar Company is an advanced anti-slip and anti-skid coating that is applied to metal plate, metal grating and other metal sections that are used in the fabrication of walking surfaces, vehicle traffic surfaces, and other work surfaces. SlipNot® Safety Flooring was originally developed for fabricating platforms, decks, and other flooring surfaces. SlipNot® is also available for stair nosings, stair treads, ladder rungs and utility vault covers.
One of the advantages inherent in SlipNot® Safety Flooring is that it has a file hard surface that maintains its coefficient of friction after years of wear. Its anti-slip characteristics provide safe, secure footing even when wet or coated with oil or grease. These advantages have led to the expansion of markets for SlipNot® Safety Flooring to include road plates used to cover trenches in roads, sidewalks and parking lots. Prior art road plates are generally uncoated steel plates that are placed over trenches in roadways as a temporary cover. The coefficient of friction of the uncoated steel plate is substantially lower than the coefficient friction of the surrounding asphalt or cement road surface. Pedestrians, cars, bicycles, and motorcycles moving over road plates can lose traction that can lead to accidents.
The conventional method of manufacturing SlipNot® Safety Flooring begins with a new metal plate or grating that is cleaned and roughened in a shot blasting machine such as a large stationary Wheelabrator® machine. After cleaning and roughening the surface, the plate or grating section is loaded into a fixture having reciprocating weld guns and a power conveyor that is permanently lodged in a manufacturing facility.
Most companies that use road plates have an existing inventory of plates in a variety of sizes and shapes that are used repeatedly to temporarily cover trenches. Even though there is a growing demand for SlipNot® Safety Flooring road plates, the cost of shipping heavy road plates from a utility company or contractor's storage location to a central manufacturing facility and loss of the use of the plates while they are being transported to the coating location and returned are significant disadvantages.
Some companies have even resorted to applying an epoxy and grit coating to comply with government safety standards. Epoxy and grit coatings are only temporarily effective due to the fact that the epoxy wears off over time. When epoxy coatings wear off or delaminate, the slippery underlying surface is re-exposed.
The above disadvantages associated with the prior art are addressed by the present invention as summarized below.